I really should have gone in the pool.
When I started the Great Barrier Reef in
The Conqueror Virtual Challenges, on January 1st, I had intended to start swimming in our community pool. I hadn't been there since February, 2020, before everything shut down because of the pandemic.
I've kept in shape, over the years, by walking and hiking, by dusting off my spin bike, by cycling on the roads when the weather permitted, and by getting out in the water on my kayak, which I bought in early 2020 before the glut on such recreational crafts made acquiring one a challenge.
In my kayak, I could get on the water without actually getting in. And as much as I enjoy swimming, I didn't do much of it since the public pools closed. Sure, I've snorkeled a couple of times in Mexico and for a week in Cuba, but honestly, that doesn't take much effort: I basically float, periodically kicking my feet at a leisurely pace to propel myself forward, and using one arm to steer myself while the other arm hangs onto a video camera that's attached to a stick.
Not much exercise in that activity.
I did manage to swim for about 500 metres, one day in Portugal, when DW and I stayed at a luxury hotel along the beaches in Portimão, but I did so at such a slow pace that it could hardly be called swimming. I did laps in the hotel's outdoor pool while DW chatted with some Canadians who were cycling through the Algarve region.
So, on January 1st, I told myself that I would swim twice a week, covering between one and two kilometres each time. Not right at first: I would work up to it after my long absence from the pool. I'd get up early on Sundays and go after work, on Thursdays. If I felt like doing more, I'd do so.
Folks, I didn't go even once.
When my alarm went off on the first Sunday in January, I grunted, turned off my alarm, and went back to sleep. Not today, I told myself, mornings aren't my jive. I'll go after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Nope.
When Tuesday came, I had forgotten to reserve a spot in the lane swim, and they were full. Instead, I got on my spin bike and rode for an hour. When it came time to book a spot for Thursday, I told myself that the one or two kilometres really weren't going to add much to my goal of my virtual challenge, which had me virtually swimming 2,119 kms from Orchid Beach on Fraser Island (K'gari) to Saunders Reef, near Australia's northeastern-most point, not far from Papua New Guinea.
And it was cold in January, with a lot of snow. And besides, DW and I were going to be heading to Mexico in a couple of weeks, and I would swim there.
As I said, snorkeling is not swimming.
So I haven't dipped my toe in a swimming pool since late September, 2022, in Portugal. And none of my snorkeling counted toward my virtual challenge.
Last night, I completed the Great Barrier Reef challenge by walking and spinning, even though more than 99 percent of the route is in the ocean. The finish line was bittersweet.
Today, I start my next virtual challenge, which is a 766-km trek along India's Golden Triangle, which has me virtually start in Delhi, travel to Agra, over to Jaipur, and back up to Delhi. I'm curious to learn about this vast and interesting country.
(Side note: DW and I contemplated touring India after we had finished our contracts for teaching in South Korea, but we chose to visit Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand instead.)
For this challenge, I'm going to focus more on my cycling, working harder and longer on my spin bike and getting on my road bike as soon as the weather and road conditions permit it. I'm not just trying to complete this challenge: I'm also training for the upcoming CN Cycle for CHEO.
If you can, please go to my sponsor page and give what you can toward research into finding a cure for cancer in children.
I don't know when I'll get the energy and motivation to get into a pool again. The Great Barrier Reef challenge was a dry one and I expect the Golden Triangle challenge to be dry as well.
Unless it rains on May 7.
